Was Terrell Owens Signing About Production or Publicity?

Terrell Owens is set to make a triumphant return to the NFL when many thought he had played his final down. Was the reason no one wanted him because his pariah reputation or a media exaggeration is something you have to decide.. After a short lived fall from grace stint with arena football, to highly publicized baby mama drama is T.O really ready to pick up the pieces of his NFL career? The Seattle Seahawks were the team who took the the chance after a season ago where T.O wandered around like an abandoned puppy looking for a home. The question is why? Do they really think T.O. can help on the field or is this just to use an old cliche get their name in the papers?

The NFL has started to predicate itself off the idea of ‘second chances’ after Michael Vick’s rise and fall anything seems possible. Owens is 38-years-old and just a year removed from knee surgery and while he was productive the last time we saw him, is T.O. really the missing piece for a young team? Even after an impressive showing in a workout, that doesn’t immediately translate to how effective he’ll be every Sunday against the all too real hard knocks in professional football. There’s a legitimate reasons why so many teams (all of them, in fact) initially shied away from the idea of signing T.O,. Not only does he come in with a wave of uncertainty based on age, but fairly or not his reputation proceeds him as someone who causes controversy. Did the Seahawks–mainly their coach Pete Carroll, make a move for T.O for publicity reasons?

The Seahawks have been said to be in transition, trying to create something out of what’s essentially nothing, or very little. The team’s one marquee player Marshawn Lynch is about one more arrest from facing serious jail time and the recent acquisitions of Braylon Edwards and Matt Flynn don’t exactly have folks jumping up and down. Anyone who knows Pete Carroll’s track record knows of his proclivity for being gutsy and going for the controversial choice so would it even be all that surprising that he tried to get T.O on board to help build some excitement heading into this season. Carroll’s choice to leave USC in favor of Seattle so far won’t go down as one of his shining accomplishments in life, but taking a risk on T.O, who if he can get hot will cause a lot of heads to turn. That’s still a huge risk to take, they’re piecing remnants of a team together so far with elmer’s glue instead of crafting one with savvy instincts, proper drafting and plain ole common sense thus far.

Are the Seahawks taking a page from the Jets book of publicity stunts in their signing of Terrell Owens, or do they really have faith in him? Even if T.O is back to his former self can he go back to being the key play maker now that he’s 38-years-old and playing with far less talent than what was given to him while with the Eagles or Cowboys, it’s something we’re going to have to wait and see. The waning interest in the Pacific North West’s only team could’ve rendered them desperate enough to go for an unconventional pick, and really with the Seahawks rummaging through the dumpster for such players like Mike Williams and Antonio Bryant (who they both have released to make room for Owens) what choice did they have?